Cutting Back Leylandi Trees

We have have Leylandi trees approximately 15 years old growing along one of the boundaries of our garden. They were unfortunately already there when we bought the house nine years ago. We have managed to maintain the height to a respectable level by cutting the tree tops on a bi-annual basis. The trees are however growing out and are now starting to encroach on the garden space.

I am in process of getting a person with a large circular metal disc cutter to cut back the sides of the trees. I just hope that it is a good time of the year to cut these trees and that this operation will not cause irreversible damage.

I would appreciate any advise on this matter.

We have Leylandi here and at a previous house as well. At our old house we cut them back twice a year as they grow about three feet a year. We had near neighbours there and wanted to keep them under control. I would usually cut off branches that would encroach over the fence. Provided you do a neat job it wont do the trees any harm. Where we live now we have let them grow because they are not annoying anyone and provide good shelter for the house. They are pretty hardy trees but there is some disease that can knock them out and they go brown in a couple of days (forgotten the name ) I know some people dont like them but they are useful for shelter in a rural area. Cutting back wont do any harm.

I just hope that it is a good time of the year to cut these trees and that this operation will not cause irreversible damage.

Click to expand...

The main problem with cutting back Lleylandii, and most other conifer-type trees, is that they do not regenerate from old wood.

If you cut back all the green growth back to the wood, chances are the trees will not regrow.

That is why it is essential (particularly with something as vigorous as a Lleylandii) that they are regularly, lightly trimmed, rather than doing drastic surgery every few years.

So, if you don't go mad with the saw and avoid cutting back into old wood, you should be fine. Thereafter, a bi-annual trim along the sides should keep them under control, and will result in a denser hedge to boot.

I am buying a suburban house with Leylandii in the back garden. Although they provide shelter from the house backing onto us, they block out loads of light also. I don't like them. They are about 15 years there, and not very regularly cut (approx 30-35 ft tall). They have grown about 6 feet into the (not very big) garden. I would like to get rid of them completely and plant 'trees with a personality'. Anybody know if there's a chance of me being able to do this, considering there must be some root system there now?

I received a quote today to cut back Lleylandi...1800.00€ + VAT + 250.00€ (or thereabouts) to remove..I was genuinely shocked...do you mind telling me Mojos how much you were quoted?

I think Mojos you would have to be careful about cutting back too severely. I have Leylandi all down my garden but I was lucky enough to have had them maintained by the previous owner so it's only a case of trimming them back now. The house next door to me is rented out and their trees have never been cut and you can really see them from my side. I've been very lucky to have a guy who works for my dad cut mine. He comes in with 2 or three different type shears and basically just trims them back and does a class job. I think if trees like that haven't been cut in a while they can go in to shock when they get cut and it can actually cause harm. Is the person with the circular saw an expert or just someone helping out? I think I would just do a job with the shears for the first cut, trim them back a bit and a few weeks later give them a harder cut if they need it. Incidentally, my trees were last trimmed around September/October and I think I'll be getting them done again around the end of this month or early next month.

I had 15 Leylandii, 30-40 foot high in my back garden when I moved in.
Don't waste your time trying to trim them into shape, just get rid of them. They will cause you pain in years to come, and Swallows is right, they won't grow back if you cut into the old wood. Plant hardy shrubs & you won't regret it - it'll give a bit of colour to your garden & attract more wildlife, if you plant a good variety, & also nothing will grow under leylandii so once you're rid of them, you can plant wildflowers & herbs & all that kinda good stuff if you're interested in gardening.
I planted lots of shrubs where the trees were and they blossomed without me having to treat the soil.
The tree surgeon I used was from Rathgar & from what I remember his name was Ryan, got from the goldenpages. I rang a few of the people who'd left leaflets in my door, and these cowboys were more expensive than proper companies in goldenpages.

Hi Luke,

What shrubs did you plant in place of the Leylandi?

By way of info I paid €1500 to get rid of ~10 Leylandi trees - around 25 ft tall

That included cutting them down to ground level - putting stump killer on the stumps and carting away all the rubbish ... a good professional job .. took them around 2 days work.

The trees I paid to get removed were close up against walls and amongst other plants ... I could not have felled them myself saftely even if I wanted to.

As to taking them down yourself - there were 3 other leylandi trees around 15-20ft high in my garden that I had previously felled myself ... it was enormous hassle - the fun aspect of shouting timber and dropping them to the lawn took about 10 seconds... but there was about 2 days of other work involved (chopping branches off before felling them to make sure they dropped the right way and then chopping up the remains) .. and getting rid of the rubbish is a major pain - they have an enormous amount of branches - would take a lot of skips (I don't think you're supposed to burn garden waste - not sure of the legalities of it but given the volumes involved it would at least be very inconsiderate to your neighbours). They also have huge root systems - digging them out is very hard - I would advise cutting to ground level and forgetting about the roots - they root quite deeply so won't affect other new plants around them.

I would concur with other posters ... unless your garden is enormous get rid of them now - trimming them back is just postponing the problem .. they are monsters .. really not suitable for suburban gardens.

Edited to add: If you are getting someone to do the work for you you should at least insist on seeing their insurance and permit to carry away the waste. It can be dangerous work playing with chainsaws and trees so you want to make sure they're covered and also illegal dumping of your waste isn't allowed. Any reputable firm will have no problem showing you these docs.

EvilDoctorK said:

I would concur with other posters ... unless your garden is enormous get rid of them now - trimming them back is just postponing the problem .. they are monsters .. really not suitable for suburban gardens.

Click to expand...

I agree about them being monsters. The roots from these trees have managed to furrow their way under my tarmac causing a rippling effect. What's worse is that the trees that are doing this belong to next door. Next door have Leylandi the whole way down the boundary whereas I have a fence running along the side house and Leylandi running all down the side of my garden in keeping with next door. Oh to live in an open field!

I planted hardy bushy shrubs, cotoneaster, spotted laurel, a few types of pittosporum, red robin, viburnum, holly etc. - shrubs that didn't require specific soil-types. Try & get a few shrubs that produce berries.

I don't know whether I should mention it, but once I got rid of the trees, the following winter the boundary wall fell down in a storm - the leylandii roots had tilted the wall & the wind did the rest. Though it was a badly built wall in the 1st place. My neighbour wasn't too annoyed, as he was glad to have sunshine in his garden, compared to the dark trees.

Many thanks for all the replies. I will ensure that this first cut with the rotating metal disc cutter is a relatively gentle one. Will go in about 2 or 3 feet. Cost quoted for doing a 25m stretch about 20 feet high on one side only is 180 Euro.

Can anyone tell me if the timber from leylandi trees is good for anything? I have to cut down mature leylandis and am wondering if they can be used for firewood or anything?

Spadmin, we cut our very mature leylandiis last summer and have been using the wood in the fireplace all winter, just topping up with a bit of coal when it was very cold outside.

The wood is a bit 'sappy' but if left to dry out for even just a few months, it's fine for firewood - we did it last year & we have a shed full of the stuff for this winter too.

Thanks for the advice folks. This means I'll be cutting, chopping and eventually burning! regards, Spadmin.

Mojos, I have previously worked as a tree surgeon and I would advise you to request a copy of the contractors insurance before signing any contract. Also, it is my understanding that the use of a circular blade for tree surgery work is not good and safe practice from a health and safety point of view, and unlikely to be covered by insurance. Whilst your quote may seem cheap you may pay a very serious price for this in the end! I agree with the other comments - leylandi whilst provide an excellent shelterbelt and privacy the maintenance of Leylandi is extremely costly and tree surgery is generally required every 2/3 years. Recommendation - fell and remove ASAP.

I have several large leylandi that need pruning after which I will be left with 2-3 skips worth of prunings to dispose of. So what to do with them? I have some options,
a) hire skips
b) hire a chipper/shredder to pack it all into 1 skip (is this possible?)
c) I have use of a large van which should take most of the branches. Is this viable and are there locations I can bring the van to get rid of the branches? most of the council sites seem to only accept cars or car/vans.

Hi guys had the same problem a couple of years back got sick of having to cut them back each year. also they where just to big for the garden .got
this
did a good job and a good price at the time. cut them all down took a way all the remains and took the stumps as well was able to make way for a new shed down the back, and got back about ten foot of the garden.

I covered my experience on this topic previously, and got a "yellow card" for referring to these trees by another word for 'illegitimate offspring', so I'll be more careful this time. Do a search on Leylandii and read up. To cut a long story short, my advice is to get rid of them completely, once and for all. They are a pest! A good contractor will cut them down completely, mulch them to bark chippings (big machine required, but the one used for us could handle tree limbs as thick as a telegraph pole), remove the stumps (a JCB will manage it), take away the stumps and the chippings, then re-landscape the damaged lawn areas, and possibly plant the shrubs mentioned above for you too. Worth every penny!